


[Untitled:]_4

by Deadman



Series: [Untitled:]_ [4]
Category: [Untitled:]_
Genre: Infected, Original Fiction, Original Universe, Undead, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies, original - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-27
Updated: 2014-08-27
Packaged: 2018-02-15 01:15:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2210139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deadman/pseuds/Deadman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The fourth installment of the [Untitled:]_ series</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Infiltration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The act or process of infiltrating.

“You let me lead you right to him.” Rick muttered as he stared into Fenrir’s eyes.

 

A spotlight slowly panned across the building and focused on Fenrir, who was now standing erect and surveying the compound. He seemed to be gauging how well the corporation was holding off the level 1 infected. The blaring sirens made the beast’s ears twitch and pivot, but he didn’t seem too concerned about being spotted.

 

“What are you doing?” Rick whispered as he approached the window to get a better view. It seemed like Fenrir was listening to the goings-on inside the compound. Rick noticed the monster’s ears perk as he darted his vision to base of the building.

 

“Oh shit.” The corporal blurted. “We knew you had good hearing, but I never thought you’d be able to...” Rick cut his sentence short as the lights of the compound dimmed slightly. As he looked around the room, he heard a burst of gunfire and looked back at the window.

 

A trail of turret fire ran up the side of the adjacent building and passed over Fenrir’s chest, causing small puffs of silver fur to surround the beast. Fenrir had brought his arm up to shield his face, but was otherwise unaffected. Rick could see the anger in Fenrir’s eyes as the monster slowly crouched, preparing to jump.

 

There was a blur of silver, followed by the entire compound shaking. Rick could hear the increased gunfire and soldiers shouting into radios. Running out the door, Rick almost tripped when the building shook again, and had to catch himself on the wall. Fenrir was slowly bursting through the levels of the compound. It was only a matter of time before he reached Thor. The corporal had to escape before that happened.

 

Rick ran down the hallway to his left, which led to the emergency staircase. Upon reaching an intersection, The corporal watched a squad of 8 men in full combat gear rush across his path.

 

“Where are you guys going?!” He shouted, pointing towards the stairs down the hall, “We need to get out of here! Do you really think you can...” Rick’s ears picked up the subtle sound of metal rustling, and he shot to the ground. “Get down!”

 

Before the squad could react to his warning, dozens of blades shot out of the door they’d been heading for, killing them all. The door, now resembling swiss cheese, slowly fell off it’s hinges, revealing a grinning Odin.

 

“Fuck.” was all Rick could get out as Odin noticed him, and grinned. Rick was scrambling to his feet when he noticed what Odin was holding.

 

Odin brought a near-dead General into Rick’s view. The poor man was riddled with blades, and could barely retain consciousness. Odin turned the General and stared into his eyes.

 

“Fuck you.” The General coughed through his blood, inciting a chuckled from Odin.

 

Another squad turned the corner opposite Odin and raised their weapons. Seeing Odin distracted by their arrival, the General removed a grenade from his belt and pulled the pin.

 

Rick shielded his eyes from the blast and coughed. The explosion caused a cloud of dust to engulf the area where Odin had been standing. Rick tapped his temple to instantly switch to infrared vision, so he could see through the smoke.

 

Odin was still there, holding onto what remained of the General. After releasing the remains and watching them fall to the floor, Odin slowly turned his head to glare at Rick and the soldiers.

 

“Run! Get out of here!” Rick shouted to the soldiers as Odin emerged from the cloud of dust. Seeing them prepare to open fire, Rick hurried out of the way and ran to the stairs. He could hear the soldiers shouting as Odin closed in, deflecting their shots with his blades.

 

Upon reaching the staircase, Rick looked back in time to see Odin walk through the intersection, pausing to shoot Rick an evil grin.

 

“You son of a bitch.” Rick sighed, turning to look down the staircase. It was about 7 levels down to ground level, then another 10 sub-levels to the holding area, which is where Thor was being held. 2 levels under that was the emergency evac bunker.

 

“That’s 19 stories straight down,” Rick muttered to himself. “Judging by the number of tremors, Fenrir should be on level 2 by now. So, considering that this staircase goes all the way down to the bunker, I should beat him there.” Rick leaned over the railing and looked down the spiraling staircase. “These joints are guaranteed safe up to 25 stories,” Rick rubbed his knee as he propped one foot on the railing. “So I should be good.”

 

After feeling two tremors in rapid succession, Rick hurriedly perched himself atop the railing, and jumped. The corporal counted the levels as he passed them, and his body tensed when he passed the level he expected Fenrir to be on.

 

Once he passed the expected level, he breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, man. I was worried he’d...”

 

Just as he finished his thought, a huge weight crashed through the wall to his right, and pinned him against the adjacent wall.

 

“Do...that,” Rick coughed, spewing blood onto the weight. Rick slowly lifted his head, following the chained weight to its source. His eyes were squinted because of the pain, but he could see Fenrir’s wolfish grin beaming back at him. Gripping the weight that pinned him to the wall, Rick was flung into the same level as Fenrir when the beast yanked the chain back.

 

“How did you even hear me?” Rick groaned as he struggled to his feet, looking up at the beast before him. Fenrir’s silver fur was now drenched in blood and dust. The monster looked down at the man and huffed, as if responding to his question. Just then, a squad of guards turned the corner and took aim at Fenrir.

 

Seeing Fenrir flex the leg closest to him, Rick turned to the squad of soldiers with a defeated look on his face. “That’s what I thought.”

 

With a monstrous roar, Fenrir kicked Rick in the chest, sending him through several walls.

 

“Wake up, Corporal.” A familiar voice rang through Rick’s ears. “Wake up!”

 

“Captain?” Rick groaned as the Captain’s face came into focus.

 

“That’s right, soldier. Now get up, we’ve gotta move.” With that, the Captain brought Rick to his feet and started down the hallway. Rick noticed that there were 6 other men with the Captain, all from different squads.

 

“So,” Rick started as he shuffled to the Captain’s side. “Did you ask any of them if they were ok before moving them, or do you just not like me?” The Corporal questioned, checking his ribs for any lethal injuries.

 

“Son, if I thought you were too hurt to move, I wouldn’t have bothered waking you up.” The Captain snapped, coldly.

 

Getting the hint, Rick backed off and walked with the others. They were unsure if Fenrir was still on this level, so they moved quietly. All of them but Rick.

 

Noticing that Rick wasn’t trying too hard to be quiet, the Captain stopped the group. “Can you all run?”

 

“Why do you ask?” One of the soldiers questioned.

 

“Well.” The Captain stretched, “As the Corporal here pointed out,” Rick noticed the Captain’s look of disdain. “Fenrir’s gonna hear us regardless of how quiet we’re being. That bastard can hear our hearts beating. So we’re gonna run to the stairs on the other side of the compound.”

 

“Are you cra...” The Captain slapped one of the soldiers before he could finish his statement.

 

“No. I’m not crazy.” He began, “There are two stairways that lead all the way down to sub-level 12. Fenrir took one out when he found the Corporal, the other is across the compound.”

 

Before any of the soldiers could question the plan further, a soft growl was heard directly behind the group.

 

Rick didn’t have to turn around. He could feel Fenrir’s presence behind them.

 

“But how?” The Corporal muttered under his breath.

 

He had no time to ponder how the massive infected managed to get behind them. The group of 8 men immediately began sprinting across the compound, a distance that equaled 5 football fields of office space.

 

It was obvious that one of the soldiers was augmented for recon, as he pulled away from the group almost instantly. “Well,” Rick chuckled at the Captain, who was sprinting beside him, “looks like he’s gonna make it!”

 

The Captain turned to Rick with a puzzled look on his face. Before he could question how this man was laughing while running for his life, his attention was drawn to an even stranger sight behind him. Following the Captain’s gaze, Rick looked to his right.

 

Sprinting right next to Rick, was Fenrir.

 

The massive infected was running, on two feet, right beside the group of men. His focus, however, was on the one that pulled ahead. Rick could see the thrill in Fenrir’s eyes. He wasn’t interested in them yet. He wanted the challenge. Dropping to all fours, Fenrir began to quickly gain on the recon operative.

 

One of the soldiers in the group obviously knew him. Rick could hear the man’s muscle enhancers groan as they strained to propel the man faster.

 

“Carlos!” The man shouted, “Shift. In. To. Turbo!”

 

Upon hearing this, the Recon op looked behind him to see the beast gaining on him. Raising his wrist, an interface opened along his arm, and he spoke a quick voice command. “Shift into Turbo, go.” With that, he leapt into the air.

 

Rick had never seen this kind of enhancement before. Once the man was airborne, his legs seemed to explode in a burst of flesh and blood, revealing an entirely metal exoskeleton. His metallic legs were modeled after Odin’s, allowing for, theoretically, the same speed Odin was capable of. Odin was the fastest of the level 3 infected; the Corporation knew this, and so did Fenrir. Upon seeing this affront to his comrade’s form, the beast was not pleased.

 

Fenrir lunged at the soldier in a rage, closing the distance in an instant. Carlos managed to narrowly dodge the creature, hitting the ground in time to escape the behemoth’s reach. After seeing Fenrir roll to a stop, Carlos figured he was in the clear. He was wrong.

 

Using the momentum of his roll, Fenrir launched his chain at Carlos, hooking onto his right leg. The sudden jerk from Fenrir destroyed Carlos’ balance, sending him tumbling across the floor.

 

“No!” shouted Carlos’ friend. The other soldiers had been sprinting after Fenrir and Carlos, but they were a ways behind the two.  

 

They had to watch as Fenrir set upon him and slowly tore off each leg, growling furiously.

 

“Thomas,” Carlos choked, “stay...back” The soldier’s pleas could barely be heard over the sound of tearing metal.

 

Once the group neared Fenrir, Thomas and two others veered to the left to save Carlos. Rick, the Captain, and two other soldiers kept running for the stairs.

 

“Should we help them?” Rick asked the Captain as they sprinted past the beast.

 

“You can, if you want.” Was all the Captain said, obviously focused on getting out of there.

 

One of the two that went with Thomas dove across Fenrir’s back and grabbed ahold of his chain, using his momentum to pull the beast from Carlos. The second soldier leapt over Fenrir’s right arm and did the same, causing Fenrir to lean even farther from from the injured soldier. Seeing an opening, Thomas jumped onto Fenrir’s chest and dropkicked him. The impact didn’t hurt Fenrir, but it succeeded in knocking him onto his back long enough for Thomas to grab Carlos and run.

 

Fenrir quickly recovered from the assault and, seeing his prey escaping, sent both ends of his chain shooting towards the soldiers.

 

Fenrir’s hook latched onto the soldier ahead of Rick with a sickening, wet crunch. The Corporal barely had time to vault over the ill-fated soldier.

 

“Fuck!” One of the soldiers was distracted by what happened, and was then crushed by the weight end of Fenrir’s chain.

 

Realizing that the rest of the soldiers were too close to the stairs to be caught, Fenrir let out a frustrated roar as he reeled in his chains.

 

After reaching the stairs, the soldiers stopped to catch their breath.

 

“How’s your friend?” questioned the Captain, who was leaning on the railing.

 

“He’ll be ok,” Thomas replied, inspecting his friend’s wounds. “He’s unconscious, and he’ll need new legs, but he hasn’t sustained any lethal damage.” The soldier then carefully placed his friend on his back and, draping his arms around his neck, put Carlos’ hands together. The wounded soldier’s hands slowly clasped each other tightly.

 

“That’s good. Now,” The Captain turned to address the rest of the group. “Do you all have enhanced joints?”

 

The group of soldiers nodded.

 

“Good. because we’re going to have to...” A sharp whizzing noise interrupted the Captain. “What the fuck was...”

 

The sound of metal and flesh tearing cut the Captain short. One of the soldiers in the group was being torn apart by seemingly hundreds of blades shooting upwards through the floor. All the squad could do was watch in terror as the man was literally torn to shreds.

  
Once the stream of blades ended, the section of the floor where the soldier had been was all but gone, and Odin was looking up at the soldiers. 


	2. Reclamation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To claim or demand the return or restoration of, as a right

“Jump!” Shouted the Captain, who promptly leapt over the railing.

 

The remaining 4 soldiers all followed the Captain over the railing. After watching them fall for a few seconds, Odin stood atop the railing he was on and slowly let himself fall.

 

“Here he comes!” Shouted the Captain as the soldiers fell. All of them turned to face Odin, except Thomas. He was more concerned with getting Carlos to safety, so he took a more aerodynamic pose, to fall faster.

 

Odin smiled widely and began firing blades at the falling soldiers, who proceeded to draw their knives and deflect whatever blades came their way. Rick could tell that both the Captain and one of the soldiers also had reflex enhancements. The other soldier wasn’t as lucky. Not only did he lack reflex enhancements, but Odin could tell.

 

Realizing that the soldier stood no chance, Odin shot several blades towards him at once. The poor soldier could only bloke one or two, leaving a dozen others to pin him to a wall.

“Get behind me.” The last unidentified soldier ordered, “I’ve got this.”

 

Rick noticed something odd about this one. Not only had this soldier never removed his helmet, but he was obviously special ops, as indicated by the pitch black armor. Another strange thing was his voice. It seemed to be altered in some way.

 

“Don’t be insane!” Shouted the Captain. “There’s no way you can handle him on your own!” Just as he said that, the spec ops soldier’s arms split into two.

 

This was another augmentation Rick had never seen before. The soldier’s arms had actually split in two, effectively transforming each half into an individual limb. Out of each mechanical arm sprouted a customized knife. The soldier looked over his shoulder.

 

“I’ve got this.” The soldier stated as he began deflecting dozens of blades.

 

Odin screamed in laughter at this development, obviously enjoying the challenge. Seeing as his previous rival had departed.

 

“Umm....guys?” Thomas shouted in a panic, “Might wanna stop now.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Rick called back as he struggled to correct his posture. Once he’d looked at what they were approaching, no answer was required.

 

The five remaining soldiers were rapidly approaching a pit of fire.

 

“Damn it! The path to sub-level 10 is covered by burning rubble! Abort directive, soldiers!” With that, the Captain took hold of his wrist and fired his hand at a railing. The cable connecting his wrist to his hand began to retract, giving the Captain just enough time to grab Rick; they landed on sub-level 7. Hurrying to the railing, Rick looked down the center of the staircase to see if the others made it.

 

Thomas corrected his posture just before hitting the burning rubble, landing on his feet. The impact caused the rubble to groan under the stress, and Thomas had just enough time to leap to sub-level 9 before the rubble collapsed.

 

Unable to find an opening in Odin’s attacks, the special ops soldier continued falling with the fiend, vanishing from Rick’s view.

 

“Damn,” Rick sighed. “Poor bastard.”

 

The Captain patted Rick’s shoulder, “Let’s move, corporal. We’ve got to rendezvous with Thomas on sub-level 12 and get out of here. This staircase is compromised with Odin down there. We have to find another way down.”

Moving quietly through the sub-level, Rick and the Captain made their way to an elevator that went down to sub-level 10.

 

Rick looked down the hall as the Captain used the elevator interface. “Does it seem a little too quiet down h...”

 

The Captain stopped pressing buttons to slap Rick before he finished his sentence. Rick looked back at the Captain with a shocked, questioning look on his face. All he got in response was the Captain pressing a finger to his lips, hinting that Rick should be quiet.

 

“You like to hit, don’tcha?” Rick muttered, rubbing his cheek.

 

The Captain glared at Rick as the elevator door opened. Noticing that the Captain wasn’t moving, Rick slowly walked passed him to enter the elevator, keeping an eye on the irritated officer.

Once the door closed, the Captain slowly turned to Rick, “Are you stupid?”

 

“Depends. Will you hit me again if I say no?” Rick snipped, shocked at the Captain’s bluntness.

 

“We both saw that there was no one in the hallways of that level,” The Captain began. “No soldiers, no research personnel, no one. What does that mean?”

 

Rick thought for a moment, avoiding any answers that would provoke violence. “It means that they all escaped?”

 

“That could be it,” The Captain sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Or, they didn’t have time to make it into the hallways. Now, considering we’ve already seen how Fenrir and Odin handle things, which other level 3 infected could’ve cleared that level?”

 

“Syren,” Rick growled with disdain, reflecting on what happened to his squad.

 

“Yeah, Syren.” The Captain snapped, “So, unless you feel like having your brain explode inside your skull, I suggest you shut the fuck up when we reach sub-level 10.”

 

Rick remained silent for the rest of their descent. He didn’t know what the Captain had gone through during the attack, but it had him on edge. Upon reaching sub-level 10, the two soldiers cautiously stepped out of the elevator and looked, in opposite directions, down the hallway.

 

Rick saw nothing to the right, and jumped a little when the Captain tapped his shoulder to get his attention. Turning to see what was to the left, Rick saw a Major slowly walking down the hall. The Major was walking away from the two soldiers, so the Captain knocked on the wall beside them to get his attention. Once the Major turned around, he and the Captain began exchanging hand signals. Rick’s ears picked up a strange sound to the right of him, and he turned to face it’s origin.

 

“That’s strange.” The Corporal thought to himself, “That sounded like it came from sub-level 9. But...that’s where Thomas...” His chain of thought was interrupted by a loud crash.

 

Suddenly, a cloud of dust burst through the ceiling, and into the hallway. Once it had cleared, the soldiers could see a battered Thomas struggling to his feet.

 

The soldier, who had just been sent through the floor of sub-level 9, was slowly limping towards Rick and the Captain. He was holding onto Carlos’ arms with one hand, keeping the unconscious soldier on his back. With the other hand, he was gripping his head.

 

“Thomas!” Rick shouted, “Are you alright?”

 

Thomas slowly looked up at the men ahead of him, his vision in a daze. Once he focused on Rick’s face, his eyes widened in fear. “Get out of here! Run!” After shouting to his comrades, Thomas suddenly gripped his head with both hands, letting Carlos fall from his back, and screamed in pain.

 

Before Rick could rush to the soldier, a loud ringing sound burst into his head, making him crumble to the floor. He recognized this pain. The Corporal had collapsed onto his left side, so he couldn’t see the soldiers behind him, but he heard them both collapse as well. That’s when he saw Syren float down from the hole Thomas had made.

 

The infected took a few steps over to Thomas stopping to look him over. After confirming that he was no longer a threat, Syren hummed happily and walked over to Rick. Grasping him by the neck, she lifted him to eye level and looked at him. Rick could tell she recognised him, seeing a playfully evil smile span her face. After turning his head a few times, she let out an unimpressed noise and tossed Rick aside. The soldier  was unable to shift his body, and the landing dislocated his shoulder.

 

“Fuck!” Rick gasped, his shoulder making a sickening pop. “You bitch!” Rick had landed on his right side this time, which allowed him to see down the other side of the hallway.

 

Syren was looking over the Captain, but dropped him as she did Rick. Upon hearing the Corporal’s insult, she turned to quickly shoot him a wink before approaching the Major.

 

The Major didn’t give her the cold look of defiance that Rick and the Captain did. He didn’t look at her at all. Even as Syren picked him up and looked right at him, the Major kept his eyes shut. He held a picture tightly against his chest and was babbling about his wife and children. Syren saw the tears rolling down his face and placed him on his feet.

Realizing that he wasn’t dead, the Major slowly looked up at the infected. Syren had a gentle look on her face and was slowly lifting her hand to the Major’s head. Seeing her point a single claw at his forehead, the Major shut his eyes, flinching as Syren placed her claw on his forehead.

 

Rick thought he was about to watch another man die, and shut his eyes as well. After a few seconds, Rick slowly opened his eyes. The pain in his head hadn’t stopped, causing his eyes to malfunction, fading in and out of focus. His ear augmentations had shut down, so he now had to rely on his natural hearing. This made it difficult to make out what the Major was saying. But It was harder for Rick to believe that the Major was talking to Syren at all.

 

“Yes, I know where he is,” The Major muttered, wondering how he could hear Syren’s voice. “But how do I know I can trust you?”

 

“You can’t!” Rick managed to shout. “She’s lying to you!”

 

The Major looked at Rick, then back at Syren, who was still staring at him with that gentle look. “Ok, I’ll take you to him. But you have to promise.” Syren nodded and removed her claw from his forehead. Once the Major started walking down the hall, the pain in Rick’s head subsided, although he still couldn’t move.

 

Rick and the Captain were both struggling to stand, but to no avail. Hearing Rick strain to get up, Syren looked back at the soldiers. Meeting her eyes, Rick saw an evil grin spread across Syren’s face as she followed the Major around the corner, humming contentedly.

 

It was five minutes after Syren had left before any of the soldiers could stand. Once they’d regrouped, the men made their way to the elevator that lead to sub-level 12.

 

“Hey, Captain.” Rick started, “Isn’t this the level Thor is on?”

 

The Captain stood still for a moment, realizing that Rick was right. “Yes it is, Corporal. Which means we’ve got to get to the bunker before Syren makes it to the holding area.” With that, the Captain quickened his pace.

 

“What’ll we do if she finds him before we escape?” Rick asked. He realized it was a stupid question, but it slipped out without him thinking. That’s just how Rick was. Although he was a sniper, he hated silence.

 

The Captain rolled his eyes and turned to Rick, “If that happens, then...” A sudden gunshot rang out and echoed through the halls.

 

Thomas brushed past Rick and the Captain, who were both standing still, listening to the echo. “Then God help us.”

The Captain snapped back to reality and followed Thomas, as did Rick.

 

“Hey, Captain,” Rick chuckled lightly, “Did Thomas just finish your sentence?”

 

“I swear, Corporal.” The Captain seethed at Rick, “If we survive this, I’m going to kill you.” The men were now jogging towards the elevator, hoping that Syren hadn’t found Thor yet.

 

“Don’t get my hopes up like that,” Rick laughed as they reached the elevator. “A bullet to the head sounds a lot better than anything Fenrir might have planned for me.” The Corporal chuckled to himself as he caught his breath.

 

“You know,” Thomas half-smiled as he leaned against a wall, “He never said he was going to shoot you.”

 

Rick’s eyes widened just as the Captain shoved him into the elevator. “Let’s go, ladies. We don’t have time for this.” The Captain hid his smirk as he pressed the -12 button.

 

“You’ve gotta lighten up, Captain.” Rick noticed the Captain’s smile. “Just think positive.”

 

“Oh, really?” Thomas laughed, adjusting Carlos. “How do we do that?”

 

Rick smiled at the lighter mood. “Just think about it like this. We all lost our squads, the compound has been compromised, all the level 3 infected are here, and this elevator is our last ticket out of here.”

 

“I fail to see your point, Corporal.” The Captain’s face returned to its previously serious demeanor. Rick put his hand on the Captain’s shoulder and grinned.

 

“It can’t get any worse.”

 

With that, the elevator shook to a halt, followed by the lights dimming slightly. A red light lowered from the roof of the elevator and began flashing.

 

Thomas and the Captain both slowly glared at Rick.

 

“What?” Rick slowly backed up, “I’m sure it’s just a...” The Corporal stopped talking when he could no longer see the men in front of him.

 

The power had gone out, followed by a horrible laughter resonating throughout the compound.

 

“You just had to say it, didn’t you?” Thomas sighed, rubbing his eyes.

 

The red light had come back on, powered by the emergency generators. Between flashes, Rick could see the Captain glaring at him. “Thomas, you have strength enhancements, correct?”

 

“Yes, sir.” Thomas smirked. “The best the Corporation has to offer.”

 

“Very good.” The Captain stepped away from the right wall of the elevator after knocking on it. “If you please?”

 

Thomas nodded and, holding onto Carlos, kicked the wall off the elevator. “It’s only two levels down,” he reported, peering over the side. “It’s dark, but we’ll live.”

 

“Indeed. Please jump down and open the elevator door on sub-level 12.” The Captain walked over the edge and looked down. “Oh, and tell Rick to follow you. I’d tell him myself, but I try not to speak to dead men.”

 

“You hear that Rick?” Thomas laughed, “The Captain wants you to follow me.”

 

Rick raised an eyebrow at the Captain, who seemed to be ignoring him. “Seriously?”

 

Before the Captain could shoot Rick another glare, an eerie howl echoed through the compound, followed by the entire structure rumbling. The soldiers could hear hundreds of level 1 infected rushing through the halls, screaming wildly.

  
“Let’s go!” The Captain ordered as he jumped down the elevator shaft.


	3. Reciprocation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A returning, usually for something given.

Thomas and Rick followed him, landing on sub-level 12. Once Thomas pried the doors open, the soldiers saw dozens of Corporation personnel rushing into evacuation vehicles.

 

Rick gasped slightly as he looked around the bunker. Scattered around the area were dozens of bodies, all of them impaled by blades.

 

“Looks like Odin and our friend made it here first.” Thomas muttered, “Do you think he made it?”

 

The Captain was scanning the bunker for an unoccupied vehicle. “I don’t know, soldier. What I do know is that we’ve got to get out of here before the infected show up.”

 

“Right.” Rick acknowledged, looking around for a vehicle.

 

Their search was interrupted by a high pitched scream. The soldier looked towards the bunker’s main entrance, and saw a level 1 infected towering over a terrified woman.

 

The woman scrambled for her pistol and managed to dispatch the infected, but three more slowly stepped into the bunker. One of them looked at the personnel and roared, sending them all into a panic. Vehicles began to speed out of the bunker, leaving people running after them. Some soldiers opened fire on the infected while others clambered into vehicles and drove off. The woman in front of the door managed to escape the three infected, but there was now a steady stream of them flowing into the bunker. Amongst the chaos of gunfire and screaming, Rick heard a familiar voice calling to the group.

 

He turned to his left to see the special ops soldier manning a humvee’s turret, calling out to them between burst of fire. “Over here, damnit!”

 

Rick got the Captain’s attention, and the three soldiers rushed towards the humvee, dispatching several infected on the way. Thomas placed Carlos in the back of the vehicle before taking the driver’s seat. The Captain found a magnum on the floor and took it, climbing into the passenger’s seat. Before Rick could climb into the back of the humvee, an infected grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him to the ground.

 

“Goddamnit!” Rick cried out as he struggled with the infected. The creature was gnashing it’s teeth at him and clawing at his face. Rick was holding the infected’s neck at bay with his forearm, while using his free hand to swat away the creature’s hands. “Little help here?!”

 

The spec ops soldier noticed Rick’s predicament and sent a knife into the infected’s skull. After rolling the corpse off his chest, Rick looked around the bunker. They were one of the last vehicles in the bunker.

 

“Let’s go, Corporal!” The Captain shouted back to Rick.

 

Noticing that Thomas had begun to pull away, Rick jumped onto the humvee, sitting next to the mounted turret.

 

Rick could hardly believe what was going on. The Corporation had trained him as a soldier, but here he was, being driven past dozens of people in need. He couldn’t help any of them. They drove past scientists being run down by infected, soldiers being driven into a corner, and vehicles being engulfed in the creatures. The spec ops soldier did what he could, but even the humvee’s turret wasn’t enough.

 

As Thomas drove through the escape tunnel, Rick watched the wave of infected chasing after them. When Thomas swerved to avoid the occasional survivor or flipped vehicle, Rick watched the wave wash over them; and they were gone. After exiting the tunnel, their humvee joined the convoy of about a dozen vehicles speeding away from the compound.   

 

The Captain leaned over and shouted over the gunfire, “Keep going, Thomas! They’re right on our ass!”

 

Thomas adjusted the rear-view mirror to get a better look. His eyes widened at the sight behind them. There was a huge wave of infected running after the convoy. It wasn’t the fact that they were keeping up that shocked Thomas, it was their mass. He’d never seen this many infected in one place before. There were hundreds of infected chasing after the convoy. Several of the vehicles in the group had turrets, and they were all firing at the mass to no avail. Every infected they shot down was just trampled by a replacement. Thomas sped up and maneuvered their humvee into the center of the group.

 

Rick held onto the vehicle as tight as he could, to avoid being thrown whenever Thomas swerved. Noticing that the Spec ops soldier had ceased firing the turret, Rick turned to look at him. That’s when he noticed that the vehicle’s turret was pointed right at his back.

 

“Hey!” Rick shouted in outrage, “What gives?” The soldier scoffed at Rick and pulled the trigger, causing Rick to flinch at the sound of a click. “Coulda just said you were out of ammo. Dick.”

 

Just as the soldier was about to respond, he pulled out his sidearm and fired right past Rick’s ear. Gripping his ringing ear, Rick turned to see what the soldier had fired at.

 

He turned just in time to witness a vehicle towards the rear of the convoy swerve uncontrollably, knock into another vehicle, and turn into a roll. After watching the flood of infected absorb the truck, an overhead shadow caught Rick’s attention. He quickly looked towards the sky, and discovered what had caused the truck to crash.

 

Odin was leaping over their humvee, deflecting bullets as he landed atop another vehicle. He went for the gunner first, quickly cutting him down before he could use the turret. Another soldier on top of the vehicle tried to retrieve an RPG from the rear of the humvee, but a swift kick from Odin sent him flying into the wave. The last of the soldiers atop the vehicle tried to take the demon head on, charging into his waist in an attempt at tackling Odin off the humvee. Unimpressed, Odin sunk his claws into the man’s back and flung him by his spinal cord. After firing two blades through the roof of the humvee, Odin leapt from the swerving vehicle. The humvee swerved into the path of an armored oil tanker and was hit. After rolling over the top of the armored truck, the humvee bounced onto the street and was rolling straight for Thomas’ vehicle.

 

“Rick! Use the RPG!” Thomas shouted back to the corporal. Thomas wasn’t in a position to successfully avoid the tumbling wreck.

 

“Right!” Rick hurried to the rear of the vehicle and grabbed the RPG. Quickly diving to the front of the vehicle, Rick fired into the path of the wrecked humvee. The blast sent the wreck into the air just in time, allowing their vehicle to pass under it. Rick turned to watch the flaming mass of metal, hoping it would explode and slow down the infected.

 

Just as the burning vehicle was about twenty feet into the air, the soldiers heard a thunderous roar. Rick hadn’t noticed Fenrir until now. The massive beast had been running alongside the convoy, but via the rooftops to their left. Fenrir leapt into the air, passing over the airborne wreck. A metallic crunch could be heard over the gunfire and screams of the infected, as Fenrir’s hook sunk into the flaming metal. With a huff, Fenrir used his momentum to pull the wreck over his head. With another monstrous roar, Fenrir went into an airborne roll, whipping the flaming wreck back at the ground. The burning vehicle slammed into the cab of the oil tanker, stopping it in its tracks. The momentum of the sudden stop caused the tank to lift off the ground, becoming perpendicular to the road.

 

“Thomas!” The Captain shouted. “We’ve gotta pass that tank before it explodes!” Thomas slammed his foot onto the gas pedal, realizing that they were still a ways behind the tanker.

 

As they neared the tanker, a loud crashing sound came from their right. Rick turned to investigate, but what he heard after the crash left nothing to the imagination.

 

A loud, maniacal scream filled the air as Thor landed on the vehicles engine. Quickly shooting Rick a look, the devil leapt from the crippled vehicle and landed on another. The impact of his weight demolished the vehicles’ engines, but left the crew alive. Noticing how Thor’s laughter intensified with each victimized humvee, Rick could tell he was leaving the soldiers for the flood. After disabling a second humvee, Thor shot into the air, landing atop the vertical tanker.

 

“Oh no.” Rick’s eyes widened when he saw the Captain whip out his magnum. The corporal got as low as he could, and the Spec ops soldier did the same.  

 

“Step on it, Thomas!” The Captain yelled, aiming his magnum out the window and firing two shots at the tank.

 

Thor’s visor turned a bright red as he deflected the shots with his whips.

 

“Son of a...” The Captain was cut off by Thor’s furious scream.

 

Strands of electricity could been seen arcing from his body as the demon whirled his cables above his head; before whipping them into the tanker.

 

The initial blast sent a few vehicles flying backwards, as they were right next to the tanker as it exploded. Following the initial blast, a huge wall of fire engulfed the street on either side of the tank. After dodging a few thrown vehicles, Thomas drove the humvee through the wall of flame. After exiting the inferno, Thomas slammed on the brakes, bringing the vehicle to a halt.

 

“Thomas,” Rick knocked on the roof of the humvee. “What are you doing?”

 

The vehicle stopped with its side facing the flames, and Thomas was staring through the settling fire. “I’m waiting.”

 

A few seconds after their humvee cleared the flame, several other vehicles burst through the wall of fire and sped past the stationary humvee.

 

Rick clambered over to the driver-side window and peeked his head in. “There are three bases within range of us, Captain; Forward Outpost 5, Research Compound 3, and Command Central. Forward Outpost 5 is closest,” Rick sat up on the roof of the vehicle watching the rest of the convoy speed away. “and it seems like that’s where everyone is going.”

 

Before the Captain could decide, a sonic boom resounded overhead. Rick looked up in time to see a blur shoot off in the direction of the convoy. “It’s Syren!” Rick looked back into the vehicle, “She’s heading to Forward Outpost...” An eerie howl interrupted the Corporal. The soldiers turned towards the burning tanker; Thomas revved the engine.

 

Standing in the midst of the flames, was Fenrir. The horde of infected at his back twitched in anticipation, growling and snarling sporadically. Odin appeared atop Fenrir’s shoulders. He had one knee higher than the other, and gripped Fenrir’s chain in one hand. With the other, he slowly ejected a long blade and pointed it at the stationary vehicle. Fenrir let out a ferocious bellow and charged forward, followed by the wave of infected.

 

“Thomas! Get us to RC 3, now!” The Captain shouted, firing a few rounds at the infected.

 

“Right!” Thomas shifted gears and sent the vehicle speeding towards the Research Compound. As they sped away, Thomas noticed that the wave of infected wasn’t following them. The flood began cutting through buildings in a diagonal path, following neither the convoy, nor the one vehicle. “Captain, they’re not chasing us. They’re heading to Command!”

 

“I know, Thomas. But Command can take care of itself.” The Captain pressed a few buttons on the humvee’s radio before kicking it in. “We’ve got to warn that compound. Rick! I’m coming up.” The Captain climbed out of the passenger window and crouched next to Rick.

 

“Howdy, Cap’n.” Rick smirked at his superior officer. “What brings you out on this fine day?”

 

The Captain glared at Rick. “Exactly what part of this is funny, Corporal?”

 

Rick smiled and kicked his feet up, laying across a section of the humvee’s roof. “Why, the part where we have absolutely no way of defending ourselves if the infected catch us, of course.”

 

The Spec ops soldier looked down at Rick, who could feel the glare through the soldier’s mask. “You know. He never said he was kidding about killing you.”

 

Rick stopped smiling and looked up at the Captain, who was obviously contemplating shoving Rick off the vehicle. “I think I’ll go help Thomas.”

 

“Yeah,” the Captain snarled. “Go help Thomas.”

 

As he lowered himself through the passenger window, Rick tapped his temple. Once he’d sat down, Thomas could hear a familiar tune emitting from Rick’s ear. Thomas looked at the corporal with a questioning look on his face. “Is that...?”

 

Rick was nodding to the music and looked at Thomas with an equally confused look. “Is what what?”

 

“Thomas, we’ve got company!” The Captain shouted from the roof.

 

Fenrir was running across the rooftops to the right of the speeding vehicle, looking back and forth between his quarry and the street a few blocks down.

 

“He knows where we’re headed, Thomas.” The Captain looked down the street they were on. All the smaller streets that were off to the side were blocked by rubble. The only way to get to the Research Compound was to make a right at the next unblocked street. Apparently, Fenrir knew that. “You’ve got to beat him to the turn, Thomas. We’re dead, otherwise.”

 

Rick, after hearing the Captain, looked at Thomas with a strange grin. “You know what that means!”

 

Thomas didn’t know what the corporal was talking about, at first. Once he realized Rick’s plan, his eyes widened with fear. “Don’t you do it. Don‘t you fucking do it!”

 

With that, Rick flipped the cover off of a red button on the humvee’s dashboard, and jammed his thumb onto the button.

 

The sudden burst of speed almost knocked the Captain and Spec ops soldier off the vehicle. Noticing his prey’s sudden burst of speed, Fenrir’s ears perked up and he began galloping across the rooftops on all fours.

 

The Captain recognised the look in Fenrir’s eyes and sighed, rubbing his shut eyes. “That’s it. I’m going to kill that man.”

 

In the cab of the humvee, Thomas was desperately trying to keep control of the vehicle. Through the corner of his eye, he could see Rick nodding vigorously and watching Fenrir through the rearview mirror.

 

“Having fun yet?” Rick shouted over the growling engine. “‘Cause he is!” Rick motioned to Fenrir, who was gaining on the vehicle.

 

“You’re fucking insane!” Thomas yelled back, still struggling to control the vehicle.

 

Rick took note of Thomas’ observation and stuck his head out the window, singing along with the song playing in his head. “MIGHTY ENGINES ROAR!”

 

Thomas pulled the corporal back into the humvee and quickly chopped his chest. “You’re singing that song now?!”

 

Rick rubbed his chest and smiled at Thomas, “What? Doesn’t it seem appropriate?

 

Just as Thomas was considering hitting Rick again, a sudden weight hit the humvee. Almost losing control, Thomas swerved just in time to avoid hitting a wrecked car. “What the fuck was that?”

 

Rick climbed out of the window to investigate what was going on up top. Just as he brought his head up, a thin blade shot right past his face.

  
Odin’s devious laughter could be heard for miles. The fiend had jumped onto the humvee, and was now fighting with the Spec ops soldier. The soldier had all four arms deployed, but he was still no match for the devil. The Captain stood behind the Spec ops soldier, knife in hand. But Odin wasn’t interested in the Captain. He wanted to see what his new rival could do.


	4. Retribution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The act of punishing or taking vengeance for wrongdoing, sin, or injury;

Rick could tell that Odin was toying with them. Whenever Thomas swerved to avoid something, the soldier would lose his footing and stumble. Odin had many clear openings to end the man’s life, but he just cackled and waited for him to regain his composure.

 

As they neared the turn, Rick slid back into his seat and gripped the armrest tightly. Thomas hit the break hard, drifting around the corner. The two soldiers could see the Compound slowly come into view as they turned the corner.

 

The Captain crouched and held on as the vehicle turned the corner, looking back to see the compound come into view. “Alright, Thomas. You’ve just gotta get us within handheld radio range. Then we’ll be able to warn them.”

 

“Got it, Captain.” Thomas acknowledged the Captain and corrected the humvee, preparing for the straight shot to the Compound.

 

The Captain turned to the Spec ops soldier, “Just keep him entertained for a little while longer! We’re almost there!”

 

“Right.” The soldier panted, trying to keep up with the fiend before him.

 

Just as the humvee finished the turn, Odin laughed loudly and parried the soldier’s attack. The man stumbled back, his knives flying from his hands. Odin had knocked back the soldier’s two left arms, making him lean back. Instead of following with another attack, Odin went with the momentum of his parry and dodged to the left. In the few seconds he had before being knocked unconscious, the soldier saw an airborne Fenrir where Odin’s head had been.

 

“Damn it!” The Captain shouted as he fell back.

 

Fenrir’s hook shot into the roof of the humvee, obliterating the SO soldier’s two left arms. The Captain managed to catch the falling soldier and roll to the left just before Fenrir’s weight crushed them both. Odin leapt from the vehicle, laughing hysterically. Just before Fenrir hit the pavement, the Captain noticed something rise from the monsters back.

 

Once Fenrir hit the ground, the sudden jerk nearly made Thomas and Rick headbutt the dashboard. The humvee was still moving, but with Fenrir’s feet digging into the pavement, it had slowed to the same speed as before Rick shifted it into turbo.

 

Thomas looked into the rearview mirror, “With that big motherfucker dragging behind us, we won’t make it in time to...” The driver stopped when he saw what was standing on Fenrir’s shoulders. “No way...”

 

“What?” Rick asked, panicking at Thomas’ expression. “What is it...?”

 

Thor’s maniacal scream echoed across the sky as he leapt from Fenrir’s shoulders. The demon’s laughter faded slightly as he neared the Compound, but his laughing itself only intensified. As his huge leaps brought him closer to the building, he began striking the ground several times with his whips before each landing. The creature was giddy with anticipation.

 

“Sonofabitch!” Thomas blurted out. “Not only do they want to keep us from warning the Compound, but they want us to watch Thor destroy it!”

 

“Thomas, calm down!” The Captain shouted from the roof. “See that uprooted stretch of asphalt?”

 

The driver looked at the road ahead. There was a stretch of the left side of the pavement that had been uprooted into a kind of ramp. “Understood, Captain. I’m on it.”

 

“Good. I’ll try to get these chains off.” With that, the Captain started kicking the chains in an attempt to loosen Fenrir’s grip on the vehicle.

 

While the Captain did that, Thomas maneuvered the vehicle next to the uprooted asphalt. “Once we pass that stretch, I’ll position the humvee so that Fenrir will have to go up the ramp. Once he’s in the air, we should have enough time of uninterrupted turbo left to get within radio range.”

 

Upon hearing the plan, Rick nodded slightly. “That’s a good plan and all. But you really should’ve kept it to yourself.”

 

Thomas looked at Rick questioningly. “Why?”

 

Rick glanced at Fenrir through the rearview mirror. “Well. If he didn’t already know your plan...”

The Captain was about to kick Fenrir’s weight when the humvee shook. The beast yanked the weight from the roof of the humvee and wrapped it around his forearm. Right as the vehicle passed the ramp, Fenrir made a sprint for it and jumped into the air. The sudden loss of resistance made the humvee shoot forward, startling Thomas. Once he was in the air, Fenrir began spinning his arm to reel himself in.

 

“Goddamnit.” The Captain sighed as he leapt to his feet.

 

Rushing to the back of the vehicle, the Captain met Fenrir as the beast latched onto the humvee. The Captain readied himself as Fenrir roared, towering over the man. The monster might’ve only had one arm to fight with, but he could kill the Captain with one blow. The Captain knew this, focusing mainly on dodging the beast’s vicious attacks. Fenrir’s attacks were surprisingly fast, making it difficult for the Captain to dodge them.

 

Once they were within radio range of the Compound, Rick grabbed his radio and switched it on,“This is Corporal Rick-Sigma, calling Research Compound 3! Come in, Research Compound 3! Do you copy?” The Corporal looked up at the compound as they approached. He could see Thor standing on the building’s roof, whipping the occasional security guard to their death. There were two doors leading to the roof, one on either side of the rooftop. Whenever a guard came through a door, Thor would quickly impale them with a whip, then fling them from the rooftop. When the demon felt like mixing it up, he would simply swat them off the building; letting gravity do the rest. Rick could hear Thor’s laughter intensify with each guard he disposed of.

 

“This is...Compound 3...Sigma. Say again?” A voice crackled over the radio. Rick assumed that Thor’s power was interfering with the signal. When the signal was clear enough, the corporal could barely hear what the man was saying.

 

“This is Corporal Rick-Sigma!” Rick repeated into the radio, “You’ve gotta get everyone out of there! Thor is on the roof. I repeat, Thor is on the fucking roof! Do you read?!” The radio chirped back, but all Rick could hear was the compound’s alarm blaring over people’s screams. Looking back at the roof, Rick saw that the Compound guards had Thor surrounded.

 

There were more than a dozen men surrounding the devil, firing everything they had. Thor’s screams burst across the sky, but they were not screams of agony. The demon was reveling in his own power. Surrounding Thor was a pale-blue sphere of electricity, the intensity of which destroyed the rounds before they reached the creature. The field of energy pulsed and shimmered, giving off arcs of electricity as Thor’s power focused. The arcs of energy began shooting into the guards’ guns, sending the men flying from the roof. As Thor’s power grew, storm clouds slowly gathered over the city, with the center directly over the demon.

 

Thor screamed with joy, and the clouds thundered in response. The spikes along Thor’s body began to glow, connecting to each other with strands of electricity. The devil’s whips shot from his hands, each radiating with power. With his laughter echoing throughout the city, Thor whipped a cable at the ground, leaving a deep gash in the cement. He did so three more times, striking in a different direction each time.

 

Rick tried to use the radio one more time, but the interference was too great. Tossing the device out the window, the corporal looked up at Thor. “What are you...”

 

A sudden flash of light made Thomas swerve, almost losing control of the vehicle. After rubbing his eyes, Rick realized that a bolt of lightning had just struck directly behind the compound. Shortly following the first strike, two more bolts shot down from the clouds, demolishing the compound’s two side exits. Thomas and Rick shot a worried look at one another, then looked back up at Thor.

 

“No...” Rick muttered quietly.

Thor was quietly staring at the approaching humvee, his visor glowing intensely. Rick didn’t need to see the demon’s smile; he could feel it.

 

Just as Rick saw someone step out of the Compound’s front exit, a last bolt of lightning came crashing down upon it. When the smoke cleared, Rick could see that the exit was demolished.

 

Noticing that Thor cracked his whip in their direction, Rick grabbed the steering wheel, “Turn!” The vehicle made a sharp right turn, barely avoiding a bolt of lightning.

 

Thomas’ eyes were wide open. He’d been focusing on the road and didn’t notice what Thor was doing. “Thanks, Rick. I won’t be able to watch him and the road at the same time, so I need you to get up top and shout when one’s incoming. I’ll circle around and check if their emergency tunnel is intact.”

 

Rick nodded, climbing out the passenger window and crouching on the roof of the humvee. “How you holding up, Captain?”

 

The Captain bent backwards to avoid one of Fenrir’s swipes, dodging another when he jumped back to his feet. “Corporal, I’d appreciate it...if you would keep your mouth shut...unless absolutely...necessary!” The soldier paused whenever he had to dodge an attack.

 

Rick nodded, flinching whenever Fenrir attacked. The monster’s long arms almost smacked Rick whenever the Captain dodged. Fenrir’s barks resonated with Thor’s screaming laughter, as if they were laughing together.

 

Seeing Thor strike the ground in their direction, Rick banged on the roof of the humvee, “You’ve got one incoming!”

 

Thomas swerved the vehicle, narrowly dodging another bolt. The sudden jerk knocked the Captain off balance, and he had to use one hand to catch himself. In the second he was open, one of Fenrir’s claws rushed towards the Captain’s head. He and Rick both flinched, but the huge claw stopped just before sinking into the Captain’s skull. Instead, Fenrir backhanded the Captain onto Rick.

 

After the Captain knocked Rick over, the Corporal hit the roof of the vehicle again. Thomas swerved in response, avoiding another streak of lightning. The loud thunderclap that followed gave way to a sudden downpour of rain.

 

The weight of the vehicle shifted, and the two soldiers looked back at Fenrir. While they’d been distracted, the beast hauled himself completely onto the vehicle. He was now towering over them, staring up at the darkened sky. Seeing that the monster’s eyes were closed, the Captain slowly stood up and took his stance. Fenrir slowly looked down at the man, his face surprisingly calm.

The Captain’s brow raised slightly. “Why didn’t you kill me?”

 

Fenrir scoffed softly, slowly snarling at the soldier before him.

 

“I see,” The Captain tightened his fists. “Well then. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

 

Fenrir’s monstrous roar was answered by a booming thunderclap. The reverberating bellows shook the Captain to the bone as he charged Fenrir. As his superior officer did his best to hold the beast off, Rick turned his attention to Thor. The creature stood with his arms outstretched, as if he were enjoying the downpour.

 

“We had you locked up for some time,” Rick spoke softly to himself. “Its no surprise you miss the rain.”

 

He was right. Thor indeed missed the feeling of rain on his skin. There were many instances, during his time in captivity, where Thor would sit in the corner of his cell and listen to a thunderstorm outside. He missed the rain and the wind. He missed the booming thunder and the flash of lightning. Thor always sensed the calm before a storm with great anticipation, pacing back and forth in his cell. His captors never made the connection; they thought he was just feeling restless. He was restless. Thor wanted to be out in the storm; in the wind and the rain.

 

Rick could see the precise moment when Thor remembered who took this feeling from him. With an otherworldly scream, the demon began twirling his whips wildly. As the cables whipped about, Rick noticed that the storm began to pick up. The rain came down harder, and the wind roared past the speeding vehicle. Peering through the rain, Rick noticed that Thor began cracking the whip in their direction; violently, and with purpose.

 

“Thomas!...” Rick shouted down to the driver.

 

“We’re almost there, Rick! What is it?” Thomas was having difficulty seeing through the rain.

Rick was dumbfounded. He had no idea how to warn Thomas. Thor had only sent one bolt at a time until now. “Uhh...Evasive maneuvers, Thomas. Evasive maneuvers!”

 

“Could you be a little more...” Thomas was interrupted by a bolt of lightning hitting the ground to his right, followed immediately by one to his left. Resisting the urge to swerve in either direction, Thomas drove right between the two strikes, sending a tingle through everyone’s spine. Rick could hardly hold on, what with Thomas maneuvering around the several lightning bolts that followed. To his surprise, Fenrir and the Captain had no such problems. They were in sync; both with each other and with the swerving vehicle.

 

Fenrir’s growls intensified as his frustration grew. The Captain was definitely getting tired, but he was still managing to dodge Fenrir’s attacks. Mustering all his remaining strength, the Captain pulled his right arm back and launched it at Fenrir’s abdomen. The beast made no effort to dodge the attack, taking the full force of the punch.

 

The Captain slowly looked up at Fenrir, his fist still resting against the monsters stomach. Fenrir had taken the attack like it was nothing, and was now looking down at the Captain. Rick could see the angry disappointment in Fenrir’s eyes. The beast lifted his head and howled at the sky.

 

“What are you doing?” The Captain shouted, landing another punch on Fenrir’s torso. “Fight me, damn it!”

 

Rick slowly stood up, watching the Captain wail on Fenrir’s stomach. The man’s punches had no effect on the beast.

 

Unable to even interrupt his howl, the Captain stepped back and looked up at the monster. “What’s the matter? I’m not worth your time?! You had no problem killing my whole damn squad!”

 

Fenrir suddenly looked down at the shouting Captain, his eyes burning with hate.

 

“Do something, damn it!” The Captain took a step forward as he scolded the beast. “Fight me! Attack me! Fucking kill me, damn it!!”

 

Fenrir snapped, barking at the Captain viciously as he brought a huge claw back.

 

Before Rick could pull the Captain back, a sharp pain shot through his knee. As he collapsed to one knee, Rick saw Odin appear before him. The devil was holding onto a blade that was now through Rick’s left knee. With his other hand, Odin swept a blade at the Captain’s feet, striking them with the flat side of the blade. Once the Captain lost his footing and was off the ground, Fenrir uppercut the Captain into the air. Rick saw the Captain spit up blood as Fenrir caught him in one hand.

 

“Captain!” Rick shouted, gripping his impaled knee.

 

Fenrir caught the Captain by the legs, swinging him overhead before slamming his body into the side of the humvee. Rick could only watch as the beast then slammed the Captain onto the vehicle, sending him right through the roof.

  
“No!” The corporal cried out, peering into the hole in the humvee’s roof. The Captain had landed between Carlos and the Spec ops soldier. From what Rick could see, they were all still alive, but they wouldn’t last much longer.  


	5. Indignation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anger or scorn aroused by something felt to be unfair, unworthy, or wrong; Righteous anger

A cold blade touched Rick’s chin, lifting his gaze to Odin. The demon was standing above the hole made by the Captain’s body, grinning maniacally.

 

“Are you finally going to kill us?” Rick coughed, still gripping his knee.

 

Odin chuckled to himself before looking back at Fenrir. The beast’s ears had perked up, and he was gazing off into the distance. Odin followed his gaze, laughing sinisterly as he saw what Fenrir was looking at. After pulling his blade from Rick’s knee, Odin gripped the man by his neck and lifted him off his feet.

 

Rick struggled with Odin’s hand as the infected pointed him in the direction they were looking. At first, Rick thought Odin planned to simply drop him over the side of the vehicle. A sudden shout in the distance echoed in their direction, followed by a powerful shockwave.

 

“What was that?” Rick choked, Odin’s grip was almost too tight.

 

Following the shockwave, a distant plume of smoke and debris shot into the sky. Several explosions could be heard as pillars of fire burst through the smoke. Distant screams flowed through the air, accompanied by a subtle melody. Larger explosions sent smoke and debris further into the sky, hurling burning pieces of rubble across the city.

 

With a loud laugh, Odin tossed Rick back onto the vehicle. Letting out an eerie howl, Fenrir leapt from the humvee, disappearing as the vehicle sped away. Odin followed suit, laughing maniacally as he leapt into the distance.

 

Rick, who had landed next to the hole in the roof of the vehicle, slowly rolled himself into the vehicle. After landing on the three injured soldiers, the corporal cursed silently and pulled himself into the passenger seat.

 

“It’s gone...Thomas, it’s...it’s gone.” Rick coughed blood into his hand.

 

Thomas had been too focused on the road to pay attention to goings on outside. “What’s gone, Rick? What was that explosion I felt? The shockwave nearly knocked us off the road.”

 

“Forward Outpost 5...it’s gone. Syren must’ve destroyed it.” Rick’s face twitched in pain. He’d been applying pressure to his wound, but the bleeding wasn’t stopping.

 

“Fuck.” Thomas sighed to himself. Noticing Rick’s leg, Thomas reached over and opened the vehicle’s glove compartment. “There should be some bandages in there. Wrap yourself up and quit bleeding everywhere.”

 

Rick smirked as he wrapped his wound, “Thanks for the concern.”

 

“Don’t thank me yet.” Thomas chuckled, glancing at Thor. “We’re still deep in the shit, my friend.”

 

Thor had stopped sending lightning bolts at the vehicle and was now watching their progress. The devil had his arms crossed as his eyes followed the vehicle’s path. The soldiers looked at him warily, anticipating a sudden bolt of lightning to be sent their way. As they watched, the men could see the field of electricity pulse and grow, slowly becoming larger and more intense. The rain had let up since Thor calmed down, but it was still coming down hard. Raindrops evaporated before touching the electric field, keeping Thor dry and his vision clear. The soldiers weren’t so lucky. Peering through the wet windshield, Thomas saw that they were nearing the emergency tunnel’s exit.

 

Thomas slammed on the brakes, bringing the vehicle to a screeching halt at the mouth of the tunnel. The two soldiers stared into the darkness of the tunnel, searching for signs of life. The power had gone out in the compound, so the lights in the tunnel were off. Just as Thomas was about to give up and head to command, a pair of headlights became visible; followed by several more.

 

“Survivors!” Rick bounced in his seat, tapping Thomas on the shoulder.”Can you...can you see them, Thomas.” The Corporal gripped his wounded knee, regretting the sudden movement.

 

“Yeah,” Thomas was staring at Thor, “But they won’t survive much longer if they don’t hurry up.”

 

Rick redirected his attention to Thor, clenching his teeth when he saw the demon.

 

Thor’s shoulders bobbed slightly as he chuckled to himself. The field of electricity, which now spanned the entire rooftop, had begun to slowly decrease in size; as if it were focusing all its energy into Thor. As the sphere slowly concentrated, it began to send arcs of electricity across the rooftop. The spikes along Thor’s body were now connected to the barrier by strands of energy, and were slowly feeding the energy into Thor. As the power seeped into his being, Thor’s devious chuckle slowly grew into a maniacal laugh. The sky answered his laughter, sending violent lightning bolts into the ground, followed by monstrous thunderclaps.

 

“Come on, come on.” Rick leaned towards the tunnel, willing the vehicles to drive faster.

 

“Goddamnit.” Thomas cursed under his breath, starting the humvee’s engine and positioning it towards their escape route.

 

“What are you doing?” Rick looked at Thomas, his face wild with confusion. “We have to wait for them!”

 

“You think I don’t know that?!” Thomas snapped at the Corporal, slamming his fist onto the dashboard. “Do you think I don’t know that we have to help them?! That I don’t know what they’re going through?”

 

Rick slowly sank back into his seat. “Well, you don’t have to go and...”

 

“Well, I do know all that, Rick!” Thomas interrupted, “But I also know that Thor isn’t just gonna let them escape. I know that he’s planning something, and whatever it is...” Thomas looked back at the three injured soldiers before slowly resting his head against the steering wheel. “I’m not like you, Rick. I can’t just laugh everything off like a joke.”

 

Rick slunked in his seat, staring down at his injured knee.

 

“So, if you don’t mind,” Thomas folded his arms on the steering wheel and closed his eyes. “I’m not watching anyone else die today.”

 

The Corporal looked up at Thomas for a second before shifting his position, letting himself look out the rear of the humvee. “Come on, you can make it.”

 

Rick could hear the roar of the engines getting closer, accompanied with cries for help. These sounds were quickly overpowered by Thor’s now-screaming laughter. The field of energy was now mere feet from Thor’s body. The demon had uncrossed his arms, lifting them into the air as he laughed. As the energy slowly concentrated around Thor, the strands feeding him energy began to violently whip around the orb. Thor had been laughing up at the sky, but he now lowered his gaze to the escape tunnel.

 

The soldier watched in disbelief as Thor clenched his fists, his muscles flexing in anticipation. Thor’s visor began to glow an intense blue, offset by the creature’s burning red eyes. As his laughter morphed into a slowly-building yell, clouds began to swirl above Thor. Rick tapped on his temple, zooming his vision onto Thor’s visor. Several cracks began to form along the demon’s visor, letting beams of blue light through.

 

“What are you...” Rick froze in fear. Thor’s eyes had fixed on him.

 

With a sudden shout, Thor’s visor burst to pieces. The creature stood there, his laughter ringing across the sky. Rick noticed that his laughter sounded different now; familiar even. Almost...human.

 

What the Corporal saw under that visor was not what he’d expected. In place of Thor’s visor was a flame-like mass of plasmic energy; with two burning red eyes staring back at Rick. The tendrils on Thor’s head now whipped about violently, glowing with the same energy as the creature’s ‘face’. As his laughter died down, Thor slowly unsheathed his whips; keeping his eyes on Rick.

Rick zoomed his vision back out, his mouth agape in disbelief,”What...what are you?”

 

Thor straightened his posture and cracked his neck. As he did so, a jagged line formed across the mass of energy, becoming wider with each crack. Once the line resembled a row of jagged teeth, it parted for a moment; as if the creature responded.

 

Rick’s eyes widened in disbelief as he jerked back in his seat. “What?!”

 

With a smirk, Thor shot his arms into the air, piercing the orb of energy and clapping his whips together. Once the two whips pierced the field of energy, a great bolt of lightning fell from the sky, engulfing Thor and the compound. The sound that followed was a mix of a monstrous thunderclap and the sound of Research Compound 3 being obliterated. The force of the impact sent a shockwave through the city, sliding the soldiers’ humvee several yards.

 

Rick shielded his eyes with both arms, avoiding the flash of light. Peering between his arms, he looked into the escape tunnel. He could see every vehicle clearly now, as they were being followed by an intense light. When he realized what the source of the light was, he sat up and shook Thomas’ shoulder violently. He could see every vehicle being swallowed by a huge wall of flame. “Thomas! Move!”

 

Thomas jerked his head up and slammed his foot on the gas pedal, moving the vehicle just in time. Seconds after they cleared the tunnel’s mouth, a huge pillar of flame shot from the tunnel. The soldiers were stunned as the tunnel collapsed, crumbling to ash.

 

Thomas slowly lowered his head onto the steering wheel, shifting the humvee into gear. Just as they were about to drive away, several military vehicles sped around the corner to their right, stopping around their humvee. The lead vehicle pulled up near Thomas’ window.

 

“Thank God we found more survivors. We saw the lightning and thought we were too late.” The soldier looked over at the rubble that was RC3. “You guys make it out of there?”

 

“No.” Thomas rubbed his forehead, taking note of the soldier’s deployment patch “We escaped Compound 6, just like you guys.”

 

The soldier gasped silently, looking at the ground. “We just came from Forward Outpost 5. We weren’t able to warn them before Syren destroyed the Outpost. I was hoping we could make it here in time to warn them.”

 

“Yeah, so were we.” Thomas sighed, averting his attention to the road. “We have to hurry to Command. That horde of infected were heading that way.”

 

The other soldier nodded and signaled to the rest of the vehicles. As the small convoy began to head for Command, Rick turned back to look at the rubble.

Research Compound 3 had been reduced to a smoldering pile of ash and rubble. As the cloud of dust slowly cleared, Rick could make out three figures amidst the rubble. The first one he noticed was Odin. The infected was standing in an unusually defensive pose. It seemed as though he wasn’t going to attack the convoy, but like he was prepared to defend himself if they turned around.

 

“What the hell are you doing?” Rick whispered, slowly zooming in on the creature.

 

As more of the dust cleared, Rick could make out Fenrir’s hulking figure. The beast was also in a defensive pose, crouching lower than he usually does. Fenrir’s eyes met Rick’s for a moment, and the beast’s snout wrinkled into a silent snarl. Noticing that Fenrir brought his left hand closer to his torso, Rick focused his vision. Being held by the monster’s left arm, was Thor. Rick could hardly see the creature, as most of him was covered by Fenrir’s arm. Thor’s face was buried in Fenrir’s chest, with the back of his head to Rick.

 

Zooming in on Thor, Rick noticed that the infected was no longer glowing. In fact, it seemed as though all that excess power had left Thor. The Corporal couldn’t see Thor’s face, but he noticed smoke rising from the infected’s head, as if his face were smoldering like the rubble. Rick noticed Thor’s shaky hand slowly climb Fenrir’s chest and grip the beast’s fur tightly.

 

Rick vision was suddenly an odd silver, and the Corporal zoomed out. Syren had touched down in front of Fenrir, blocking Rick’s view. After she seemed to look over Thor, Syren turned to face the retreating convoy. Meeting her eyes with his own, a shudder traveled down Rick’s spine. He’d never seen Syren so angry; he could feel the hate in her gaze.

 

“Rick, are you ok?” Thomas nudged Rick.

 

Rick looked back at Thomas for a second before turning back towards the infected, “I’m good.”

 

He could see Fenrir slowly backing away, clutching Thor tightly as Syren and Odin kept their eyes on the convoy.

 

“What are you looking at?” Thomas lifted an eyebrow at Rick, adjusting his rearview mirror to try to get a look at what Rick saw.

 

“It’s nothing.” Rick faced the front of the vehicle and smacked Thomas’ hand away from the mirror. “Hands on the wheel, Jackass. After all we’ve been through, I don’t wanna die in a car accident.”

 

Thomas glared at the chuckling Corporal, “Alright, funny man.”

  
  


Rick figured he would wait until they got to Command before telling anyone what he saw. If he told Thomas now, the convoy might turn around to attack the infected while Thor was weak. Rick didn’t know why, but that didn’t feel right. It didn’t make sense to him, feeling this way. They were the enemy. They’ve killed countless Corporation and Military soldiers, never giving any quarter. But now, when they’re vulnerable, Rick wanted to leave them be. Maybe it was what Thor had said to him. Either way, Rick would have to wait for his answers.

 

Once they’d turned onto the road to Command, every vehicle in the convoy sequentially shifted into turbo. Command was surrounded by the Flood, with infected flowing out of buildings around the compound. Command was built like a fortress, with huge walls surrounding the building. Massive turrets atop the walls kept the infected at bay, with several guard towers allowing soldiers to help suppress the Flood. Normally, level 1 infected would have no chance at breaching Command, but the sheer volume of them was allowing them to get dangerously close. Several turrets were dedicated to massive piles of infected building along the walls. Once the convoy neared Command, a loud siren resounded across the city. Recognizing the signal, all the vehicles of the convoy lined up in the center of the road.

 

“What’s going on? What are they doing?” Rick questioned Thomas in a panic.

 

The driver chuckled at Rick’s question, “You haven’t been to command recently, have you?”

 

“I’ve never been to Command! What the fuck is going on?” Rick gripped his armrest as the pavement to his right slowly opened.

 

“Keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times, Rick!” Thomas laughed as he gunned the engine.

 

As the convoy drove along the center of the road, huge gaps began to form as the lanes to their right and left began to pull apart. As they did so, Rick could see dozens of infected falling into the pitch black pits. Once the gaps lead up to Command’s walls, the stretch of pavement the convoy was on began to lift into the sky. None of the convoy’s engines could be heard over the roar of afterburners lifting the stretch of pavement into the air. Once the path stabilized, it was level with the top of Command’s walls.

 

Rick slowly peered over the side to get a look at the afterburners that kept the path afloat. Looking past the burners’ flames, Rick saw the mile-long drop straight to the ground. Quickly erecting his posture, Rick tried to focus on the vehicle ahead of them.

 

Noticing that Rick’s head was in his hands, Thomas nudged the corporal. “Rick? Rick, are you ok?”

 

The Corporal leaned back in his chair, his arms flopped to the side. “Shouldn’t have done that...should not have done that.”

 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Thomas quickly glanced between the road and his comrade, tapping Rick on the cheek.

 

“I have a...a thing,” Rick seemed oblivious to Thomas’ slaps, his face now pale. “With...a thing with...heights.”

 

“You’ve gotta be kidding me! You’re a sniper, and you...” Thomas’ voice faded slowly.

 

Along with his hearing, Rick’s vision faded in and out with his consciousness. He heard the bridge lowering, and saw lights going by as the convoy drove down a spiral path into Command. He could hear Thomas’ voice faintly shouting for a medic. The last thing he saw before passing out completely, was a medic team rushing over to help them. The last thing he heard...

  
was a howl.


End file.
